Scattering of Stars
by Jennie
Summary: A year after the War, Hermione Granger leaves England. Six years later, the American Society of Magic is getting more and more worried about the frequent and violent attacks of ghosts in Amity Park and sends Hermione to investigate...


**Title: **Scattering of Stars

**Author: **Jennie

**Rating:** T

**Warnings:** Only that I admit to being a H/H fan, so there will be undertones, and possibly romance later on in the fic- in the _far_ future, however.

**Characters:** the entire cast of Danny Phantom, as well as Hermione Granger, and various OCs, with more Harry Potter characters to step in later on.

**Summary:** A year after the War, Hermione Granger journeys to America, staying with a cousin and making a new life for herself. Six years later, the American Society of Magic is getting more and more worried about the population and intents of ghosts in Amity Park...

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything associated with it do not belong to me, and neither does Danny Phantom or anything associated with it.

**AN:** After reading several DP/HP cross-overs, I realized that they all had one thing in common- The Trio was around the same age as Danny and co, if not a year or so older. Since Harry Potter was born in 1980, and Danny was born 1989/1990 (when you go by the time line that **Prisoners of Love** takes place in May 2004, as stated in the episode), there is a nine to ten year difference between the characters- and no one seemed to take that into account. So I decided to. This is my first Danny Phantom fic, and also my first cross-over fic. Not my first HP fic, though it has been over two years since I last wrote in this fandom, so we'll see how this turns out... I hope you enjoy the fic, and any questions, comments or constructive criticism will be happily accepted.

NOTE: The Prologue is HP-specific, but Danny Phantom will come into play in the first chapter.

* * *

**Prologue**

_31 August 1999_**  
**

She traces the elegant stitching on the skirt of her gown, lost in her thoughts. This..._celebration_ is supposed to be merry and bright, the first large wizarding even since Voldemort was defeated, almost a year ago. Instead of laughing and dancing, celebrating their newfound freedom, she's left in a corner, ignored.

_Harry's engaged to Ginny._

It was the first thing Harry did, when he arrived that evening. Appearing in Hogwarts' Great Hall, with Ginny on his arm, he called for everyone's attention- although he already _was_ the center of attention, being the person who defeated Voldemort- and announced that Miss Weasley had done him the honour of agreeing to become his wife.

Her glass fell from her hand, shattering on the unforgiving stones.

She fled.

It wasn't until near an hour later that Ron finally managed to track her down, sitting in the rose gardens, amongst the stars. He silently led her back inside, and since then, she has stayed in her hidden place, out of the way, out of the minds of the attendants.

She just wants to be left alone.

"Ron said you went to get some fresh air," a familiar voice whispers in her ear, and she tenses.

"I did, Harry, but I've come back." She refuses to look at him, her finders still following the vines embroidered into her (rather expensive) gown. "I just needed to be by myself for awhile."

"I can see why," he says, not taking the hint and sitting down next to her on the bench. "I haven't had a free moment since arriving- everyone wanting to thank me first hand." She continues to ignore him, and he elaborates. "I know I defeated Voldemort, but I did it because I had to- because no one else could. I didn't do it for the fame, the fortune, the...utter ridiculous glamour that I'm receiving."

"You don't have to stay, you know," she murmurs, her hands finally ceasing their movement. "There's nothing keeping you here."

"Ah- but there is," he replies, taking one of her thin and pale hands into his. "You, for one."

"Me?" And for the first time that night, she meets his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Harry- I'm certainly not keeping you here. I'm not even sure why _I_ am still here, except perhaps simply because I have nothing else to do and-"

"Yes, you are, Hermione." His voice is hushed, and she begins to wonder if he perhaps has finally realized what she's been going through these last months, these last _years_. It's very hard to love someone you know is in love with someone else, but she never gave up. No matter what, she stuck by him, always there for him, always ready to fight for him, to fight _with_ him.

And he never acknowledged it.

Perhaps he finally will.

_Except that he's now _engaged _to someone else._

She grabs her hand back, stands. "No, I'm not. And I think I will be going now. Good night, Harry, and I hope you have a wonderful life."

Her words sting, cause tears to form in her eyes. Is there a reason this sounds so..._final_? As if this truly _will_ be the last time she sees him again?

It- it's just the anger talking, and the hurt. It _has_ to be, because without Harry in her life- there's not really a life worth living. She lost _everything_ in the war, a side-effect of not only being a talented muggle born witch, but also Harry Potter's close friend. And while it hurt- oh, _yes_, it hurt- she convinced herself that Harry was all that mattered. Now...with Harry out of her reach...

What's left?

"Hermione!" He calls after her, but she continues to dodge through the crowd towards the doorway. She'll return to her flat, make her self a cup of tea and figure out what to do next. Staying...isn't an option anymore. Before the ball, she had plans of staying in London, perhaps taking a Ministry job or working as a researcher, and bringing up the courage to admit to Harry that she had been in love with him since she was fourteen- their Third Year- and she had forced herself to hide it all these years. At twenty years, she had had two boyfriends, though neither could really be counted as such.

Viktor...a reciprocated crush, but one that only lasted the school year. She remained friends with him, but they lost contact soon after she started her Fifth Year. And Ron...knowing that she couldn't have Harry, she instead tried to transfer her feelings onto him. She succeeded for awhile, especially since he had a rather obvious crush on her. They dated for the summer after their Sixth Year, but it was soon obvious that it would never work. Ron _infuriated_ her too often, and she couldn't help herself from lecturing, which led to frequent squabbles.

And she was never in love with him.

When Harry broke up with Ginny, and the Trio left to find the Horcruxes, she realized this was her chance- and she used it. Harry and she became incredibly close over their travels, and she found herself falling even more in love with the man. It wasn't until they returned after Voldemort's defeat, that Harry started to veer from her and turn to dating Ginny again- as he had supposedly promised.

It hurt- it really hurt- when he went back to the youngest Weasley, but she understood. And it wasn't anything _serious_, now, was it? Ginny had gotten over her crush on Harry before and no doubt the same would happen now. Harry would realize that Ginny was not the woman constantly by his side, that she could never reach the level of understanding he held with Hermione.

Apparently, she was wrong.

It _burns_.

She hates being wrong- always has. And to be wrong in something so _huge_- it's painful. It shakes her to her core, leaves her full of self-doubt and mistrust and even a bit of self-_loathing_ that she couldn't foresee what was going to happen. Harry never wanted her- he wanted Ginny. Instead of Ginny being the stand-in, as she believed, Harry felt the exact opposite- because he was afraid for Ginny's safety and did not dare risk his precious love; he used Hermione in her place, because he didn't mind hurting _her._ Oh no, she didn't mean _anything_-

_Stop it!_

She's being ridiculous. Of course she means something to Harry- they're best friends after all. Yes, it's true that he does not hold the deep feelings for her as she does for him, but that does not make their friendship any less. It still causes pain and suffering for her, but at least she still has a part of his heart- if not the part she wants...

"Hermione!" He still follows her and she ducks to avoid him, thanking the House Elf who holds out her cloak, before fastening it and exiting the building.

"Leave me alone, Harry," she calls out, keeping a brisk pace. The fact that this might be the last time she ever sees Hogwarts does not register, as she keeps her head down in an effort to reach the carriages without him following.

She doesn't succeed.

Two steps away from the line of carriages McGonagall had sent up to carry the guests from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, he finally catches up to her and grabs her shoulder. "What is _wrong_ with you tonight, Hermione?"

"There is nothing 'wrong' with me, Harry. I simply wish to go home. If you would kindly remove your hand from my shoulder, I shall proceed in doing so."

"Bullocks." He whirls her around, so that she's facing him and she suddenly is aware of how _close_ their faces are from another. "Don't play games with me, Hermione. Something's up and I know it. You've been becoming even more withdrawn these last few months, but tonight is the first time you bloody _ignore_ me- and I want to know why."

"It is nothing." She turns her head away, all too aware of his proximity. "You said yourself- the last year has been hard on me, Harry. You defeat Voldemort- and then rouge Death Eaters go after my parents. I've lost _everything_, Harry James Potter, and it's not bloody easy, going to a _celebration_ when my life is in shambles!" Her voice rises and she is aware she is losing control- but cannot help it. "I was at your side throughout the entire war, and now I find myself shoved to the bloody side, because _little 'Miss Weasley gave me the honour of being my wife_'", she quotes in a scathing tone. "You know what? I don't care. Go off and marry Ginny and be happy for once, but _I am leaving_." And in his shock, she manages to squirm out of his grasp and jump into a carriage.

It's with a heavy heart that she looks behind her for one last look at the magnificence that is Hogwarts, and the shadow of her (former) best friend and love.

* * *

After her parents' gruesome death (they were tortured with several dark curses before a throat-slashing curse was used), she inherited all their possessions. She had little use for the house she grew up in, now reduced to ruins, another gift of those Death Eaters, so she sold the land- but she kept most of the other possessions she could salvage from the remains. Not many, to be sure, but a few trinkets. And of course the possessions she had with her at Hogwarts and then on the journey remained (relatively) unscathed. 

Right now, she is on the search for one particular item.

Both her parents came from decent-sized families, and Sandra Granger made a habit of keeping up with family news by recording it in a journal. While the journal was destroyed in the fire the Death Eaters set, Sandra had copied all the phone numbers and addresses into an address book for Hermione to have, prior to starting Hogwarts. Still unsure of how the wizarding post system worked, as well as the complete lack of technology, Sandra decided that at least if Hermione had the addresses, she could write if she had the means to do so.

She never did, usually becoming too wrapped up in whatever schemes Harry and Ron had cooked up, as well as the ever-growing threat of Voldemort. It was also too hard to explain what was going on in her life without revealing that she was, in fact, a witch and attended a magical boarding school to hone her powers. But she kept the book and her mother updated it every vacation, crossing out out-of-date addresses and adding new ones, as well as new family members, either by marriage, adoption or birth.

Hermione had finally charmed the small book in Third Year, making it fire-, water- and spill-proof. The book became near indestructible from most (normal) forms of wear and tear, and she held on to it, making sure it was always in her trunk when she went to Hogwarts. After all, you could never know when it might be needed.

Now it is needed.

She's practically torn apart the one-bedroom flat she rents in Diagon Alley, searching for the bloody thing- and she _still_ can't find it. "All right- I give up," she mutters, fingering her wand. "_Accio!_"

Seconds later, the book comes flying out from under the bed.

She'll need a telephone, she realizes- the magic in Diagon Alley interfered with the one she tried to keep in her flat, so she got rid of it. Making sure she's dressed properly in muggle clothing, she makes her journey to muggle London, her purse on her shoulder, with her wand and book inside.

It's not too long before she finds a pay-phone, and entering the booth, she quickly casts silencing charms and other various charms to keep people away. This is not going to be easy, she is well aware, and it's probably one of the most life-changing decisions she'll ever make, second to accepting admittance into Hogwarts.

She takes out the book, and opens it.

_Marian Granger_, _Marian Granger..._ She flips through the old address book, searching for the proper entry. The daughter of her father's sister, Madeline, who kept her maiden name and passed it onto her daughter- Marian lives, as far as Hermione remembers, in America somewhere. She hasn't seen the girl since Marian's fifteenth birthday- three months before Hermione's eleventh, but they occasionally chatted on the telephone during her school breaks, and Madeline and Marian did come to visit a few times while she was at Hogwarts, and therefore unable to see them.

Marian had taken a year abroad, her second year of University at Oxford, and had become so enamored with the United States that she promptly moved there as soon as she was able, partly due to falling in love with and marrying an American by the name of Richard. Hermione had been invited to Marian's wedding, but as she had already accepted to spend the summer with the Weasleys (this was directly before her Sixth Year), she politely declined, but took up Marian's offer to visit any other time when possible.

Well, now is the time. Dialing the correct country and area codes, as well as Marian's number, she listens to the ringing before the line is taken up. "Hello?"

The accent is still British, though it definitely has an American tang to it. "Hi, Marian? This is Hermione Granger- do you remember me?" A rather silly question when you get down to it, but she hasn't spoken to her in years, now, and well, you never know.

"Hermione? Oh my goodness, _Hermione_! How good it is to hear from you!" Marian gushes. "Is there anything I can help you with? I heard the passing of your parents- freak car accident, correct? Horrible, horrible thing- I wanted to attend the funeral, but I just couldn't get away from classes at the moment-"

"It's fine," She quickly cuts her off. Talking about the death of her parents, due to Voldemort, though passed off as a car accident to the muggles, is _not_ something she wants to continue. She's had enough heart-ache the last years- dwelling will only make it worse.

"Actually, Marian, I was wondering if I could take you up on your offer to stay with you for awhile- the one you made when I couldn't attend your wedding. I still haven't met Richard and things are...things aren't going very well in England, right now. I need to get away, and I remembered you and-"

"Of _course_ you can visit! We're in Boston, Massachusetts, there's an international airport here and I'd be glad to pick you up and you're welcome to stay as long as you like. Rich and I aren't in that often, we've both got classes, and he spends so much time in the lab, but as long as you don't mind entertaining yourself during the days, we'd be thrilled to have you."

Thank goodness. Not that she expected the older woman to refuse- Marian always _was_ extremely kind, and apparently she hasn't changed. This visit to Boston and perhaps new start might be exactly what she needs...

"That's fine- I'll probably be doing my own thing anyways. I- I really can't stay here any longer, Marian, and I'm so _grateful_ that you're allowing me to come-"

"Nonsense, Hermione. You're always welcome, and I just hope that Rich and I can help."

After chatting about a few details, they hang up and Hermione leans back against the wall, sighing. All she needs now was to get rid of most of her things, pack the essentials and get a plane ticket.

In less than a week's time, she'll be on her way to America, and her new life.


End file.
